I'm having a small gathering so I think I'll make a double batch. Thank you
Long story on the proof staff. I've had it in my possession for over twenty years and didn't even know what it was until recently. It is a rare item that my great-grandfather willed to my grandfather and sat unmolested and unidentified by me in my (formerly Grandfather's) basement for over seventy years. After identifying it, I started making inquiries that led me to the grist mill up the road from where my grandfather grew up. The mill was built in 1846, but idled in 1910. It was boarded up for many years, but became a State park (California) when they rebuilt the mill for operation in the eighties. They were very excited about the proof staff as they desired to use it for demonstration purposes and document it. I'm a cabinetmaker comfortable with scrapers, so I demonstrated 'proofing' their paint staff.
So the first type of tools used by the millstone dresser are the Marking Tools, the PROOF STAFF and the PAINT STAFF. Most staffs were made by John T. Noye of Buffalo, New York. Printed on the sides with raised letters was: JOHN T. NOYE, BUFFALO. They were made in 3 1/2, 4, 4 1/2, and 5 foot lengths for different diameter millstones. They came in a hardwood case and are covered with a light coating of oil. A wooden paint staff of the same length is made of a solid piece of maple or of 2 or 4 lengths glued together, with the grains of the wood running in opposite directions. The proof staff is used only as a gauge to check the level surface of the paint staff. The paint staff is rubbed back and forth over the proof staff. High spots are identified by a light coating of oil and scraped down with a piece of glass. The process is repeated until the entire surface picks up the oil evenly, then the surface is wiped off. Afterwards, the level surface is coated with a mixture of water and red iron oxide. Today, powdered carpenter's chalk is used to mark the high spots on the millstone surface. The high spots can then be taken down to create the desired dished effect in the millstone grinding surface. Merchant mills had dished millstones, while custom mills had flat stones and would not get that fancy in working the millstones.
It's a very esoteric and specialized tool that serves two functions for dressing millstones: 1st it is used to flatten the paint staff, 2nd it is used to level the base stone after dressing.
Here's a picture of the proof staff and my son at the mill. He was hired to bring the proof staff every year when they dress the stones (How cool is that?).
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